I'm in the favorable camp here. I notice the reviews seem to be largely either/or; people looking for something Tom Clancy in nature have another film with Sam Neill playing a Russian they can view anytime on HBO. Neill, it seems to me, was the unsung hero of this; his character and Armin Mueller-Stahl's provided plenty of balance to the premise of the film itself. What a great cast! I hadn't caught Christine Lahti in anything since seeing Housekeeping 10 years ago, she deserved the awards they gave for this. The other big surprise was Dorian Harewood, I went nuts trying to figure out where I'd seen him before: He was Eightball in Full Metal Jacket. He really pulls out the stops here.
Spoilers: A little bit more back story would've helped. The only hint of how the Soviets took over was through a breakdown in communications, according to the Sam Neill character. The book apparently explains this as a massive EMP attack, using high altitude nuclear blasts to destroy electronic equipment across the nation - including the wiring in nuclear silos, which are supposed to be immune from EMP. Or perhaps the president couldn't do the deed. Or couldn't get in touch with them anymore. That wouldn't effect the subs, though. Don Wrye I suppose wasn't interested in going into all these details, but it leaves you scratching your head a bit. Would lack of spine/character bring down a whole nation? As it happens, I did enjoy the very enigmatic ending, even though it might be a bit treacly or unrealistic. O'Neill's character we think will let America get back on its feet - what about those Party bosses back in Moscow who had to be convinced that it was better to just murder all of Congress rather than nuke three cities?
Spoilers: A little bit more back story would've helped. The only hint of how the Soviets took over was through a breakdown in communications, according to the Sam Neill character. The book apparently explains this as a massive EMP attack, using high altitude nuclear blasts to destroy electronic equipment across the nation - including the wiring in nuclear silos, which are supposed to be immune from EMP. Or perhaps the president couldn't do the deed. Or couldn't get in touch with them anymore. That wouldn't effect the subs, though. Don Wrye I suppose wasn't interested in going into all these details, but it leaves you scratching your head a bit. Would lack of spine/character bring down a whole nation? As it happens, I did enjoy the very enigmatic ending, even though it might be a bit treacly or unrealistic. O'Neill's character we think will let America get back on its feet - what about those Party bosses back in Moscow who had to be convinced that it was better to just murder all of Congress rather than nuke three cities?